Welcome to this new entry into my Reimbursement Blog! We invite you to take a moment and subscribe to the blog through the link at the bottom of this page.
This entry is important because it will inform you of due dates for the Medicare Occupational Mix Survey that will be applied to Hospital’s Medicare Wage Index from FY 2010 to FY 2012. Anything that effects the wage index is vitally important to PPS reimbursed Hospitals. If it effects the wage index for three consecutive years, then….
The 2007-2008 Occupational mix survey will collect hospital specific wages and hours data by type of clinician (RN, LVN, Aide, Etc.). The completed survey must be submitted to FI by September 1, 2008. The survey is available on CMS’ website. To see the survey click here.
The interesting note about the Occupational Mix Survey is that the financial impact of the survey is somewhat counter-intuitive. Most would think that a higher mix of staff would mean added reimbursement. In reality, when a close look at the mechanics of the calculation is done, the lower the skill mix of staff that is reported on the survey the more reimbursement a hospital will receive. This may be as good a time as any to recheck those clinicians credentials to make sure your “RN’s” and “LVN’s” have competed all the requirements to keep their credentials (i.e. continuing education, etc.). It would also be a good idea to get Nursing Administration’s input into the contents of the survey. They may be privy to recent developments with regard to a clinicians status that have not found their way to personnel or the applicable information systems.
The preliminary, unaudited 2007-2008 Occupational Mix Survey data should be released by CMS in early October 2008.
I hope this and all future blog entries help you identify the most important of reimbursement issues and new developments in the field for you.
Sincerely,
Kendall Quisenberry
President
Reimbursement Counselors
(972) 403-9910
